


Accidentally in Love

by KiriAsakura



Category: The Golden Hour (TV), The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit RPF, The Office (UK), the golden hour
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, Boys In Love, Bullied Character, Bullying, Doctor/Patient, Falling In Love, First Love, Flirting, Gay, Gay Character, Gay Male Character, Handsome, Helicopters, Hospital, Hospitals, London, London Hospital, London Underground, Love, Love at First Sight, M/M, Office, Paramedic - Freeform, Renting movies, Self-Doubt, Shyness, Thilbo, United Kingdom, Video, bagginshield, flirtation, video rental store
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 04:13:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28682361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiriAsakura/pseuds/KiriAsakura
Summary: Tim Canterbury is about to turn 35 and his routine life hasn’t changed yet, leaving him feeling increasingly despondent and hopeless. He can't help but complain about the monotony of his employment at the office in Slough, and his bad luck in every respect, especially in love. But his life will change when one day he suddenly meets by chance a handsome dark-haired paramedic from London named Alec Track. After suffering an unexpected accident and being helped by the handsome Londoner, they both feel an inexplicable attraction to each other, accidentally falling in love together. Richartin AU. Thorin & Bilbo are meant to love each other again in each new life! ;D
Relationships: Alec Track/Tim Canterbury, Bilbo Baggins & Thorin Oakenshield, Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield, Richard Armitage/Martin Freeman
Kudos: 4





	Accidentally in Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim can't help but feel dejected by the monotony of his employment at the office in Slough that he has worked for years without any change in his life. His hopelessness has grown even more after learning about the marriage of his old love interest: Dawn. But suddenly one day, shortly before his 35th birthday, he runs into a mysterious and handsome dark-haired man who he won't be able to get out of his mind for the next few days, but who unfortunately actually lives in the capital. Thanks to a touch of good luck, Tim is assigned to a task in London, where he wishes he could run into him again.

**Chapter 1 — Accidental Attraction, at First Sight**

**Slough, Berkshire, England**

**August 2006**

It had been another day just like the others. Nothing had changed in his monotonous life. The routine had followed the same course as always: getting up early in the morning, taking the bus and arriving at the office, pouring a coffee from the cafeteria upon arrival, greeting the boss with his usual stupid face, the rest of his colleagues and take his place at that desk that he now shared with not just one but two annoying people.

"Hey, Timothy!" the boss pronounced, playing as usual, but trying to annoy his timid employee, ruffling his hair a bit, which every year seemed to get more blond. Without a doubt, it must have been due to the gradual loss of melanin that accelerated with age. Tim had always been blond, but in truth his hair had turned more and more platinum as the months passed since he had turned 30, and now he was about to turn 35. And at almost 35 he was still trapped in the monotony of that simple office.

Tim reacted to the action of his annoying boss. He was used to being the target of the annoyances of him, and of the rest of his companions, in a friendly way, but in spite of this it never stopped being unpleasant, especially in those days when he was not in a good mood, as was the case just today.

"Ah, good morning!" greeted the shy boy. He always wanted to protest, but he always resisted. He was never able to express how much everyone in the office irritated him, starting with his boss David Brent, who had returned to his position after a period of being away from the company. Although, to tell the truth, the time in which Gareth had been in command had not been to his liking either. Everything had been monotonous then and everything was still monotonous now. Even the furniture that was installed in the office, even David and Gareth's silly jokes were monotonous. The only thing that was different was the fact that the girl he had always been interested in, Dawn, had returned with her now husband Lee from her to Florida, away from him. It had even been almost three years since then and now they were starting their own family. He had finally resigned himself to the fact that now he had lost her forever.

"No way, she's married to that guy now," Tim said as he sorted out some archives in the filing cabinet, remembering that a couple of weeks ago Dawn had sent him a postcard along with the invitation to the christening, but from her second child! According to the date indicated, it had been carried out that past weekend.

He thought that maybe that was why he had been much more discouraged than usual for the past few days. He really felt terribly dejected, empty, without motivation to continue with his routine life. He had always been a melancholic and quite insecure boy, but he had realized that this year he was feeling even worse.

Although he also thought that another cause could be due to the fact that it was the middle of the summer and that a new school year would start at the university that he had wanted to return to for years. But this would be another year just like the others, another year in which he could not start classes together with the others, in that psychology career.

“And at the end of the summer I will have turned 35” he complained over and over again, especially at lunchtime, when his mind was not occupied with some office task, but with his usual sandwich, like every noon.

"Oh, and I forgot to put cheese on my sandwich this morning," said the timid boy, lamenting once more about his bad luck and his clumsiness. He thought he would at least like to have some company over lunch, but he couldn't even have that. Nobody really liked him in the office and he didn't seem to like him very much either, although that was more because he always went unnoticed. He was used to his loneliness, but sometimes it annoyed him too, so much so that he even sometimes wished he had at least the silly jokes from Gareth or David during that time of day.

Just then, as he brooded on pessimistic thoughts of him, he got what he was wanting. Gareth leaned over to tease him, and show him the cheese he'd taken from his sandwich a while ago, without Tim noticing.

"Hey, Timmy, were you looking for this?" said the guy, with mockery. Tim realized that he hadn't actually forgotten to put cheese on his sandwich, but that Gareth had played another of his silly jokes.

Tim got up from his place as he struggled to try to get the piece of cheese from him, but just like always, he just let him stay with it, without much effort.

"Ah, keep it, I don't like that cheese, anyway…" said the blond, trying to respond with mockery as well. Then he watched as Gareth ate it right in front of him, grimacing at the end of how much he had enjoyed it.

But Tim didn't flinch too much, because he was used to always losing. He would find a way to get back at him by playing some silly joke on him too, later.

Tim just looked at the clock on the wall, realizing there were still 15 minutes to go until lunch was over. By this time, he was so upset that 15 minutes seemed like an eternity. He decided to just finish the rest of his sandwich and went to the dining room balcony, it was better to observe from there the gray panorama of the nearby buildings than to continue in the dining room enduring the stupid jokes of Gareth or anyone else.

"Oh, at least when Dawn was there, we could make fun of Gareth's stupidity together," the blond muttered between sighs. Then Gareth approached him from behind, wanting to continue bothering him, and also in the company of his new girlfriend, a brunette and sensual girl who had entered the company not long ago. The girl was really too sexy to hang out with a dull and ugly guy like Gareth, Tim thought, and he sensed that she was hanging out with Gareth just for convenience, because he was David's direct assistant, the area manager, and recently his salary had risen considerably more than the rest in recent months.

Tim thought that if he got a better position, he could have a chance with her, although he also thought that he was not really interested in her, the girl was sensual but frivolous and boring, he did not find her anything interesting, she did not really attract him, although he also considered that dating that girl can make him look cooler, maybe that way his colleagues, and his family, would begin to respect him, at least a little.

"Ah, but I'm not really interested in her...maybe it's my destiny to be single forever, to always be a loser and to live my whole life with my parents." Tim wailed again, as he tried to ignore the blows that the annoying Gareth gave him with his straw behind the ear.

Tim only gave him a light slap without much intention when he turned to walk back to his desk.

While there, he had to turn on the computer and capture a lot of data, stacked in a pile of folders that had just been assigned to him on the desk. The computers were new, they had been acquired by the company only last year, but his keyboard was already damaged, which the fool Gareth had caused him on purpose.

"Ahh, I have to put a new tape on this shit," Tim expressed as he continued with his work.

He realized that many of the archives he had to capture were from a new client.

"London Hospital in Whitechapel," he pronounced upon reading the information.

"Ah, we have to sell them a bunch of printed forms, Timmy. That's why you must hurry to archive all this. Good luck, mate!" David said suddenly, slapping him on the back. It hadn't been a camaraderie slap, but rather rough, because he was always a bore. But like always, Tim didn't complain.

"Well..." said the blond, and continued with his work.

In truth, archiving all that data would take a long time. He had hardly been able to advance anything by the time the day was about to end, he thought that he had also lost a lot of concentration with so many annoying noises made by Gareth next to him and with everything that his girlfriend talked about throughout the day. Only when she had to concentrate for a long time in front of her own computer, which was right in front of him, could he get a little rest from all her talk.

And from that angle, Tim could admire the girl's short black hair. Silky black hair unusual in the place. Her black hair had always drawn Tim’s attention, perhaps mainly because he was very blond, and many there, including Gareth, were too.

"I must admit that I really like her hair... much more than Dawn's, although of course, there is no comparison, because Dawn is blonde," Tim thought to himself as he continued with his tedious work, while at times he also had to serve to potential clients pedantic.

Finally, the bell that marked the end of the day ended. Fortunately, it was payday, so as soon as he got out of that horrible office, he had planned to go to some ATM, and then buy some good dinner, albeit frozen, at the supermarket. Certainly, he was still living with his parents, but there were days when his mother no longer wanted to cook so it was always uncertain when he should buy his own dinner, so he had to arrive early to defrost it in the kitchen at the sink.

"Ah, I'm going to rent some films too. Yes, to watch them alone, for a change," he said to himself as he swiped his card at the checker.

"Until Monday, Timmy," David said, teasing him again by giving him a playful slap on the head.

"See you on Monday, Dave," replied the withdrawn Tim, smiling nervously, internally annoyed by David’s daily bullying.

Tim left the building, grateful that Gareth had lost sight of him and that he had failed to disturb him. He walked somewhat briskly down the sidewalk, when he suddenly felt Gareth's heavy arm come to rest abruptly on his shoulder, encircling his neck. Tim grimaced, but resigned himself. Next to Gareth was his girlfriend, chewing gum. She didn't usually tease Tim but she did enjoy seeing Gareth teasing him, and she always sneered.

"Hey, Timmy, are you going home or are you going out with a girl tonight?" Gareth asked mockingly.

"Ah, no…I…" Tim replied nervously, though trying to sound defensive.

"I mean, it's Friday night!" - Gareth exclaimed.

"Yes, but… no, just, I'll go rent some movies"

"Oh, to see them with a girl?"

"Not with my parents"

Gareth and his girlfriend laughed.

"Haha, good luck with that date, with your parents!" then Gareth and his girlfriend decided to cross the sidewalk. They didn't stop laughing mockingly until Tim lost sight of them.

Tim was annoyed by Gareth's teasing and the way his sexy girlfriend laughed as well, but he was used to it anyway, and he knew that was never going to change. In other circumstances, he might have decided a long time ago to quit his monotonous job and find another, but now he was resigned that he was going to have to keep working there until he was 40, then 50, and probably the rest of his life. And he also thought that, even if he could change jobs, wherever he went, he would always be the target of bullying from his companions, because he was a shy, insecure and extremely indecisive guy. His companions had taken advantage of his shyness for as long, always as he could remember.

But at least he had some good luck at the time as the bus that would take him home arrived early, before other of his colleagues came over to harass him, especially his supervisor David who usually took the same route as him.

"The good thing is that I got a good empty seat," the blond said to himself, thinking that he too had had some good luck in that regard. It was rare for him to think about his good luck because, on the contrary, he always had his bad luck in mind.

Suddenly started to rain. He thought that he too had had good luck reaching the bus just before the rain, and so he hadn't had to get soaked.

Though the rain and the gray sky only added to his melancholy.

Tim decided better to listen to some music on the way. He turned on his new mp3 player that he had bought not too long ago and while he listened to the music, he looked out the window. The theme he had chosen for that moment was one that made him even more melancholic, although he felt it suited his current emotional state as he watched the raindrops trickle down the window.

When he was halfway there, he noticed that some accident had happened on the avenue. The ambulance was parked while the paramedics, dressed in their orange suits, tended to the wounded, and he noticed that the air ambulance was not far away. He had never paid much attention to such incidents, but this time he couldn't help but be a little uneasy about it. The accident seemed to have been somewhat spectacular. It was something that would be on his mind throughout the weekend, thinking that maybe it was because he had a fear that something like this could happen to him, after all he always had more bad luck than good.

After a few minutes he finally managed to get to his neighborhood. He had decided to go down several streets before arriving at his house, because he was going to rent several movies at a nearby video rental store, just as he had planned.

Fortunately, by then the rain had stopped, however, he had brought his umbrella with him because it was always better to be forewarned.

He entered the premises and began to review the titles of movies and series, especially the most popular ones that he had not yet been able to see. He couldn't decide if he preferred to watch some suspense, horror or adventure title. He thought that he definitely did not want to see some romantic title, it was a genre that he had not liked to see for a long time, because it only made him think that couples could only be happy in fiction and not in real life, because unfortunately at their almost 35 years old had never had a real date with any girl. He had barely only flirted with Dawn a few times, and that was while she was in a relationship with her boyfriend Lee, so he had never even dated her actually. But he was also resigned that his love life would always be a failure.

Who could be interested in a shy boy, short, childish-looking, bullied guy like him anyway? And the worst thing was that since he had turned 30, he had gained weight, each year a little more. He knew he was a little chubby guy.

"Ahh, maybe I'll take a detective degree, or maybe something fancy…" he thought as he continued to review the titles.

"Sir, what do you think of these titles? They are new, they have just arrived..." said one of the managers of the place, indicating a shelf where the recently released titles were.

Tim came over to take a look at them. Among these premieres there were titles of all kinds: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, The Da Vinci Code, Night at the Museum, Children of Men, Superman Returns. He certainly hadn't had a chance to see any of those movies, so he considered renting one this time. Among the recent titles on that shelf, where they also housed the titles that were most requested. _Pride & Prejudice_ and _Brokeback Mountain_ were together in the same place. Both titles had been released a year ago and were still among the most requested in the video rental store. He didn't stop to think that _Brokeback Mountain_ had drawn more attention to him than _Pride & Prejudice_. He took the box with the _Brokeback Mountain_ film for a moment, read the summary of the film on the reverse side, and then hesitantly put it back in place. He took a few seconds to think about whether it was a good idea to rent that movie.

He was very undecided about it, he thought that the normal thing was that he better should decide to rent _Pride & Prejudice_, and not a film as controversial as _Brokeback Mountain_. Although the title had certainly piqued his curiosity since he had read about it in some magazines and newspapers months ago.

He was still surprised that the film, which told the story of two cowboys in love, had been showing in a cinema in his locality the last year. At that time, Tim had considered a lot in attending to see it, to see for himself if it was really good and why there was so much controversy with it. Although due to his enormous indecision, he had not dared to see it on the big screen that time.

"Are you interested in this title, sir? Remember that it was acclaimed with rave reviews and was even nominated for several major awards. It's an extremely moving story," the manager commented, noticing how Tim nervously fiddled with the film box on the shelf.

"Ah, no... actually, I'm interested in other kinds of titles," said Tim nervously, surprised by the girl, and stopped fiddling with that box of film.

The girl did not continue to insist, and she continued to serve other customers. Tim appreciated that the video rental store was always packed, and that they didn't pay too much attention to a simple guy like him. He made up his mind to revisit the newer titles, the adventure and thriller ones, and grabbed a couple.

He then took a look at the shelf of popular series and his attention was curiously fixed on the medical ones. He had never been very interested in that type of series, but he considered that perhaps it might be a good idea to start one, perhaps because he could not forget the accident that he had witnessed less than an hour ago.

At that moment, while he was deciding which series to choose, he heard the voice of someone. It was a deep, young, masculine voice. He turned to see the man, noticing that he was several steps away and with his back to him, being attended by one of the attendants.

"Ah, you have chosen excellent titles, sir!" exclaimed the manager enthusiastically, not only because usually she usually served her clients this energetically but also because the man, she served now was extremely attractive.

Despite only seeing him from behind, Tim could see him too. The man was tall, tanned, and his dark green short-sleeved shirt stood out nicely on his torso and muscled arms. Furthermore, the black hair that he possessed had immediately caught Tim’s attention. The black hair always attracted a lot of his attention, something very different from his who was increasingly blond, but this man's black hair had attracted his attention even more than normal.

"Haha, thank you, miss," replied the attractive man, smiling mischievously, something innate in him, and that internally drove the girl crazy who took it instantly as a flirtation towards her.

"Ah, I realize it's about to be your birthday!" the girl exclaimed as she checked her client card.

"Haha yes, that's why I'm renting these movies, although...it will be until next Tuesday," said the handsome dark-haired man, smirking.

"Oh, remember we spoil our clients on their birthdays," the girl said, trying to flirt with him.

The handsome dark-haired young man laughed a little nervously, but smiled cheekily at him again. The girl was pretty after all, and he was always a hardened conqueror.

"I know, miss. So, I wait for my discount..." he said, smiling coquettishly "even though my birthday is next Tuesday!" he added with a charismatic laugh.

"Of course! Besides, we will provide you with an extra title at no cost," said the girl as she went through the process and then opened the cash register. Clearly the young man knew that the girl was making an exception just because it was him, since those promotions were made only to clients who had a birthday on the day and not to someone whose birthday would be in four days.

"Ah, that seems wonderful to me!" said the cheerful dark-haired.

"You can choose the title you want!" the girl exclaimed, indicating the shelves of the new titles with her hand. Then the dark-haired turned around, a big gallant smile outlined on his face.

Tim, who had been observing the scene, noticed that the handsome stranger had suddenly turned to where he was, and with great nervousness turned to the other side to hide and avoid meeting his gaze.

"Okay, I'll choose one extra title," said the black-haired man, approaching the shelf of popular titles. "Can I choose the one I want?" he asked the girl.

"Sure sir, just because it's about you..." said the girl, which was true, because usually the extra title they provided should not be part of popular titles or recent releases, but she had decided to make that exception also just because the young man was very handsome and had flirted with him.

"Well, let's see..." the dark-haired came over to check out the titles. By that time, Tim had already made his way to other shelves, to avoid the proximity of him, although he certainly did not stop observing him from his place, noticing that in truth he was very handsome, very attractive and also smelled very good. Tim concealed that he was still looking for titles to rent, and stayed there until the handsome dark-haired man returned to the cash register with the manager.

"This title, please, miss," said the dark-haired after choosing. He again grinned at the girl, flirtatiously. Tim continued to watch from his place. He still didn't admit that the stranger had made an alluring impact on him, but he was really enjoying seeing him, although it seemed like the dark-haired had definitely not even noticed his presence.

"Okay, sir," said the girl, and began to do the procedure.

"Haha, but please stop calling me sir. I'm not an old man!" the dark-haired young man exclaimed, smiling amused and gallant.

"Haha it's true, you're just 35 years old..." said the girl, returning coquetry.

Tim was still watching everything from his place. He had been very surprised that the handsome young man was turning the same age that he would be about to turn in a couple of weeks. He thought it must just be a great coincidence.

"And I guess you’re going to enjoy to watch these movies with a pretty woman..." the girl commented. She had not spoken with jealousy, on the contrary, she continued to flirt with him.

"Haha maybe..." replied the tall dark-haired.

"Ah, I wonder if at 35 years you’re single or married..." the girl inquired recklessly.

Tim continued to listen to the conversation, a little closer now, on the shelf just behind the cash register, where he could get a good look at the dark-haired young man's back, which was broad and muscular. Tim had been drawn to that strong back without a doubt. And in that closeness, the stranger smelled so damn good.

"Would you like to find out?" the dark-haired replied, outlining a new gallant smile for the girl who was crazy for him. She took it as a suggestive invitation, she thought he wanted to ask her to date, although the truth was that he just wanted to end that meaningless conversation and get out of there at once.

Tim had noticed they were flirting, although he hadn't wanted to miss a moment of the conversation. Unconsciously the dark-haired young man had attracted him a lot, although he could not admit it, so he thought that he had only aroused interest to think that snooping around the young man's interaction with that manager could serve as an example to flirt with girls and conquer some.

Before the handsome dark-haired man was done with that interaction, one of the senior managers called the employee.

"Daisy! What do you do? Don't you see that there are other clients waiting to be served?" snapped the manager. The girl reacted to the scolding and obeyed.

"I'm sorry Sir. I'll be right away!" said the girl "I'm sorry, Mr. Track. It was a pleasure to serve you. Enjoy your movies, and happy birthday!" she added, and then began to serve the other clients.

"Thank you, miss," said the dark-haired, grinned again and turned to head towards the exit. Tim thought that, in that closeness, the young man might have noticed that he had been spying on them, and he tried to hide that he had been focusing his attention on the movies all this time, until the man left the place.

"So, Track...that must be his last name..." the blond muttered to himself, losing sight of the handsome man.

"Sir, did you find any interesting titles?" inquired another of the managers, she had noticed that Tim had remained standing in front of the same shelf for a long time. She had also noticed that he was an extremely withdrawn boy and thought that maybe he might need help.

"Oh yeah. Don't worry," said the blond, somewhat nervous, with the titles in hand.

So, he went to the cashier to make the payment for the movie rentals.

"Ah, I see that in the end you were interested in seeing the movie I suggested," said the girl in charge, the same one who had attended him before, although she was now attending one of the cash registers.

Tim became more nervous at the girl's comment, which must have been referring to the title of _Brokeback Mountain_.

"Ha, yes. Err…but could you please wrap it in some black bag or something that hides it well?" Tim replied, trying to hide his nervousness, although it simply could not go unnoticed.

The girl noticed his nervousness well and laughed internally at the boy's request, although she supposed that renting that title should cause him embarrassment. Being a controversial title with a gay theme, and with that nervousness and that appearance, the girl assumed that the boy was a closet gay and that he did not want anyone to notice that he had rented that movie.

"Okay, sir, as you wish."

Tim finished making the payment, the girl had wrapped _Brokeback Mountain_ in black packaging. Then the boy left the place, turning to see the street as if he wanted to meet the handsome dark-haired man who had entered the video rental store a while ago. But several minutes had passed and he definitely couldn't see him. Also, the sky had already completely darkened, and that way it was more difficult to spot the young man in the streets.

Despite being always undecided, this time he steeled himself and followed his own impulses, and decided to go back into the video rental store and ask the manager who had personally served the handsome man, despite the fact that he was unconsciously jealous of talking with her, just by remembering that the dark-haired had flirted with her.

"Excuse me, miss..." said the blond.

"What is it sir? Are there any drawbacks with the titles you chose?" she inquired.

"No, I just want to ask you a question," the blond muttered.

"Speak”"

"That young man, the tall dark-haired... "

"Ah, the one who is very handsome?" the girl asked, outlining a wide smile.

"Ha, yes, that one. The one in the dark green shirt," Tim whispered, timid.

"Ah, that shirt fitted his muscular body so well…" the girl said, almost drooling at the memory. Tim became more nervous at her comment.

"Haha, yeah...well, I want to ask, if there is a way to know if the man lives near here," Tim asked at last, although avoiding his gaze and with a very low tone of voice, almost speaking in secret.

The girl had not yet caught on anything strange about the fact that Tim was interested in knowing about the handsome dark-haired man. Contrary to the other manager, who had rented the _Brokeback Mountain_ movie to Tim, and who sensed that he was a shy closet gay, she laughed internally when she heard the boy asking about that handsome dark-haired man, because she had noticed his enthusiasm asked about him and because she immediately believed that Tim had liked the handsome stranger.

"Ah, the handsome one lives in London," said the girl.

Tim was surprised to learn that and was also disappointed. London was at least 20 miles from there, and being a big city, it was sure to be difficult to find him. Besides, he never went to London, never really even left his neighborhood in Slough, not even Berkshire.

"So, in London…but then why does he come here to rent movies?" Asked the blond.

"Ah, I don't know that. The handsome man registered with an address near here, a few blocks away. But in his official identification it clearly says that he resides in London. I can't give you more information" said the girl.

"Oh, and... does he come frequently to rent movies?" inquired the blond, with interest, although acting secretive at all times.

The other manager could hardly continue to contain her laughter. She certainly could tell, and almost confirm, that Tim really was a closet gay interested in the handsome tall black-haired man.

"No, unfortunately he doesn't come very often. Maybe once a month, or even every two months. Which is a real shame because oh, he really is sooo damn handsome!" the girl enunciated. Her rapture could be seen in her expression.

"I see" Tim was now slightly disappointed.

"Ah, but being sooo handsome, he surely has a girlfriend, no girl would resist dating him," said the girl, amused.

"Yes, I suppose you're right. Well, thank you very much, miss," said Tim, and resigned, he decided to leave the place again.

He walked fast to his house, because it was already too late. All the way he kept looking around to see if he was lucky to meet the handsome black-haired man nearby. But he couldn't make out.

Just when he finally reached the door of his house, he realized that he had forgotten to ask the manager the most important thing.

"damn! I didn't ask him the name of that man! "

He would regret all weekend for forgetting something as important as that.

……………

"I'm here," Tim announced aloud as he entered his house, but keeping his head down. In the background could hear the television on inside the living room that was dimmed. He immediately noticed the smell of stew coming from the kitchen, realizing that his mother had cooked dinner that day and therefore it would not be necessary to eat a frozen dinner.

"Ah, Timmy, how well you arrived! Dinner is served!" said the mother as she looked out and noticed Tim’s presence.

"Ah, good! I'm starving!" Tim said, forcing himself to smile.

"You arrived later this time," said the mother, who was used to Tim always arriving at the same time and staying home when he was not at the office, because the boy had practically no social life.

"Oh, I just stopped at the video rental store to rent some movies and... I think it took me longer than I expected," Tim explained.

"good! And what titles did you pick this time for us to see?" Inquired the mother, noticing the bag with the movies that Tim had in his hand, and she extended her hand trying to take the bag. But Tim suddenly remembered that he had rented the controversial (and almost "clandestine") _Brokeback Mountain_ and quickly prevented his mother from taking the bag. He was afraid that he would find out that she had rented that title, and that she would scold him or question him with a thousand questions.

"Ah, I'll show you in a bit, ah, I must hurry to call...the boss, he asked me to make a call to see what an order for next week..." Tim explained cleverly.

"But it's Friday night, can't he wait for Monday?" protested the mother.

"Ah, it’s possible that...he will send me to London on that assignment and... he better tell me what it will be like..." Tim lied, remembering that the handsome tall young man he saw in the video rental store was from London. At that moment he wished it could be true that he would be sent to London. He was suddenly saddened to remember that he had no excuse to go there.

"Oh, London? But Timmy, you never go to London, you don't know the city, you could get lost," said the overprotective mother, diminishing even more the low spirits of her son.

"Mum, London is only 20 miles from here, 40 minutes by bus, max 1 hour. With a map and good instructions, I can get all around the city," Tim said, protesting a bit, though sidestepped and still struggling to hide the bag with the movies.

"Still, London isn't like here..." said the lady.

"Well mum, anyway, it is not yet a fact that they send me to do that order anyway"

"Ah, well, I really hope they don't send you there in the end. Well, dinner is ready. Hurry! it gets cold," said the laconic mother, and without further ado she returned soon to the kitchen to start serving the dishes.

Tim didn't say anything and went up to him room. He noticed that his father had not come home from work yet, which was not uncommon being Friday night, because it seemed that his dad had always had much more social life than him, since from time to time he would go to a pub or to play chess with friends on Fridays after work.

It was sad to think about it, as well as the fact that at almost 35 years old he was still living with his parents, while his older siblings had left the nest long before they turned 30. Although for now at least he was glad that his mother did not he would have insisted on revising the movies he had rented so he wouldn't have to find out that he had rented _Brokeback Mountain_. Tim would see that movie alone in his room and return it as soon as he did, without anyone having to know about it. It was also sad to think that what his mother had said was usual, that they always watched the movies he rented together, it was sad and disappointing that his mother, and sometimes his father, were always his only company.

As soon as Tim entered his room, he made sure to lock the door on the inside. He knew his mother was busy in the kitchen, but he had to be forewarned. After closing the door, he rushed to remove _Brokeback Mountain_ from the black packaging in which the manager of the video rental store had wrapped it. He couldn't help staring at the cover for a few seconds, he felt nervous to think that he had dared to rent that title, but he had already done so, there was no going back, now what he had to do was dare to see it. Having acquired that controversial film made him feel as ashamed and reckless as if it were some pornographic film.

"Well, I'll see it tonight, when my parents have gone to sleep," he muttered to himself, still staring at the cover of the film.

"Timmy, dinner's getting cold!" the mother shouted from the ground floor. Then Tim quickly hid the film well under his bed, inside some box, and went downstairs to dinner.

……………

"What a good dinner, Mum!" said the boy, almost finishing his plate, with satisfaction.

"I'm glad you liked it, Timmy. As it is Friday night, I wanted to prepare what you like the most, and thus pamper you a bit," explained his mother, smiling kindly.

"Thanks a lot, mum," Tim said, finishing his plate. And as he drank some water, his mother's comment made his nervous and almost made his spit out the liquid.

"Timmy, you were very thoughtful at dinner. Did something happen today?" the mother inquired that, being so overprotective, she knew her son perfectly. She knew that Tim was extremely withdrawn, shy, nerdy, antisocial, and that he had always led a monotonous life, but tonight Tim was really peculiar, much more self-absorbed than usual.

The truth was, Tim had been too pensive all through dinner because he couldn't get the attractive image of the tall, dark young man out of his head he'd seen at the video rental store that afternoon. The dark-haired man had dazzled him with his bearing, with his gallantry, and with his deep masculine voice. But despite that, he refused to admit it, and he would probably continue to deny it forever.

"Ah, nothing's happened, mum..." Tim replied, with remarkably nervous despite trying to hide it.

"You're definitely acting very weird today, Timmy, but, well, I just hope it’s not something wrong...although, I feel like it's more of a girl..." said the mother, trying to sound pleasant and even funny.

Despite being an overprotective mother, she truly wished that her son could find some girl soon and be happy.

But Tim's nervousness only increased further at the comment from his mother.

"Haha, no, it's not about any girl, mum..." Tim kept avoiding his gaze as he giggled a little nervously, and got up from his place to carry the dirty dishes to the sink.

"What happened to Dawn? Did she come back?" asked the mother, with complicity.

"Err...no, she ...

"Is she still living in the United States?"

"Y-yes..."

"She will come back?

"no, I don’t think so…"

"Ah, but you should send her a letter," suggested the mother, trying to cheer up her son.

"Mum, Dawn got married and… now she even just had her second child." Tim had sounded quite serious and laconic.

Tim finished carrying the dishes to the sink and washed them. The mother did not continue to insist.

"I'm sorry mom, I'm very tired." Tomorrow we will see the movies I rented, okay?" said Tim, more sparing.

Hearing her son's statement about Dawn and noticing his distress, the mother only tried to smile affably so as not to discourage him further.

"it’s okay, son. Rest well. "

Tim grinned with some effort and then went up to his room.

……………

An hour later, after taking a night bath, Tim finally got ready to watch the movie _Brokeback Mountain_ in the solitude of his room. He had heard his father arrive a while ago, but he didn't come out to greet him, because he really didn't have the heart to do so. He thought his mother might as well take it upon herself to tell him that he was very tired and that he had decided to go to sleep early.

But his parents did not suspect that he would stay awake for a long time, watching the controversial movie that was almost like a taboo, on a portable DVD player that he had secretly acquired not long ago, another secret that he kept.

"Okay, here we go..." Tim said to himself, already dressed in his pajamas and settled, sitting on his bed. He put on his headphones and started playing the movie. He was grateful that the portable player could be of such intimate use that neither his parents nor anyone else could know what he was watching at.

Watching the movie was an intense experience for him. He still couldn't answer himself why he had dared to rent it and why he had dared to see it. But he had done already. When he finished seeing it, he realized that it had really been very moving, just as he had heard and read from others. He felt great empathy for the characters and a deep melancholy for his own life, remembering that he, too, was lonely and that he would probably always be a total antisocial.

"It was so...sad," Tim muttered, leaving the player off to one side, on a small table, while he felt a lump in his throat and almost wanting to shed a tear "that's why I hate being so sensitive" he turned off his lamp at night and snuggled between his pillows and blankets, soon falling fast asleep. He really was tired.

That night he dreamed of some events in the film, in which he himself was involved. And unexpectedly he also dreamed of the closeness to the handsome tall dark-haired young man from the video rental store, even if he hadn't seen his face well.

The feeling of having dreamed of him would cheer him up the next morning, even if he still refused to admit that the man had impressed him so much.

……………

Tim spent the rest of the weekend thinking about the handsome dark-haired man from the video rental store. He just couldn't get it out of his head. The rest of his routine was as monotonous as ever, and he had to watch the other movies he had rented in the company of his parents, especially his mother, to whom he was always more attached.

There was nothing extraordinary during the weekend, as always. It was always the same, spending Saturday and Sunday locked in his room, sometimes playing simple computer games or reading a book. Although there was something a little different to his routine in those couple of days, the fact that he kept looking for the handsome dark-haired man in the nearby streets, with the desire to have the opportunity to meet him again. But that just didn't happen and so the weekend ended.

On Monday morning Tim would head back to work from him at the office as usual. He showered and dressed in an everyday suit, had the same usual breakfast, took the same bus as always, arrived on time and checked his entrance, as always, nothing had been out of the ordinary. He came to his desk and started his work, just like always, having to put up with his companions and his annoying joking boss, then deal with pedantic buyers, as was also usual. The only relevant thing that day would perhaps be the fact that the annoying Gareth had pasted a sheet of paper with the phrase "I'm stupid" on his back when Tim was immersed in his work. Tim wouldn't realize this joke until lunchtime, he hadn't even noticed it when his companions laughed when they saw him go down the hall, with the paper stuck to his back.

"Haha Timmy! You're in the clouds!" Gareth expressed amused when observing Tim's annoyed reaction when he finally noticed the joke. Gareth's girlfriend was next to him, also laughing, and chewing gum.

"Oh hell, Gareth! You haven't done this stupid in a long time!" Tim demanded, although without much eagerness, because anyway he was always resigned to being the butt of the jokes of his companions, especially Gareth and his own boss, but later he will try to find a way to 'get revenge' on them, playing some silly joke on them too.

"You seem in love, Timmy," Gareth said mockingly, as Tim tossed the nefarious paper into the trash can.

Gareth's comment had made him uncomfortable, although he hadn't even considered it.

"No, not at all..." Tim replied shyly, trying nevertheless to appear defensive.

Gareth came over to pat him on the back.

"Come on, Timmy, trust your good old friend and tell me, did you meet any cute girls this weekend?" he inquired.

"Ah...well I..."

"Haha, although the problem now must be if she wants to date you!" Gareth interrupted mockingly.

Tim did not have time to explain further or defend himself against Gareth’s teasing because at that very moment he was called by his superior, David.

"Hey, Timothy! Come here!" said the boss.

"I'm sorry Gareth, the boss needs me," said the shy guy, smiling wickedly, thus ditching the embarrassing issues of his companion, and headed towards the boss's cubicle.

……………

The rest of the day Tim tried to focus on his work. Despite his monotony, he always liked to be responsible and efficient. The boss had commissioned him to organize the mass printing of the new forms that a hospital in London had recently requested from them. It was a tedious task, but he thought it was better this way because that way his mind would be kept much busier and more distracted from thinking so much about the mysterious handsome man from the video rental store, and the silly question that Gareth had asked him before lunch, the fact that he seemed to be in love, with some girl.

"Sure...that guy must be a real conqueror...he must be very lucky with the girls..." Tim thought over and over again, despite having to organize so many forms "if I have the opportunity to meet him, I will definitely ask him to teach me flirting with girls," he thought lost in thought, trying to concentrate on his work in front of the computer, but unable to get the image of that handsome man out of his mind "ahh, how good the guy was flirting with that girl!" it certainly disappointed him.

That same afternoon, at the end of his workday, Tim returned to the video rental store to return the titles he had rented. He was especially careful to be very discreet when returning _Brokeback Mountain_ , since his shame always made him feel like everyone was looking at him and he was afraid of being judged, although the truth was that nobody paid the slightest attention to him.

At all times his gaze strained to scan the entire place, wishing he had the luck of seeing the handsome dark-haired man from the other day again, but he was not that lucky. And his indecision prevented him from asking the employees if the dark-haired had already gone to return the borrowed films.

Tim decided to return the next day as well, because he had not been able to forget the fact that that Tuesday, August 22, was the birthday of that handsome man, just as the manager who had attended him had stated. Tim thought maybe the dark-haired could appear in the video rental store that day, but he didn't. He, too, hadn't had any good luck with it.

The days went by, the week ended and Tim had to go back to another boring weekend, with nothing relevant.

The following Monday, Tim returned to the video rental store, to return other movies that he had rented for that weekend. He also could not see the dark-haired that day. But at last, he dared to ask the manager some more information about him.

"Excuse me, miss…" Tim said quietly.

"yes…"

"Remember the tall black-haired man from the other day?" inquired the blond.

"I don't know who you mean, explain yourself better"

"I mean the tall young man who celebrated his birthday last week…"

"Haha, many tall young men come here every day, sir!" exclaimed the girl amused with some mockery.

"I know but…I mean the one...the one who...is…soo…handsome, as you expressed it yourself," Tim finally said, with very low voice, extremely embarrassed and flushed, wishing he could hide his head like an ostrich.

The girl smirked, although she hadn't yet suspected that Tim was attracted by the handsome mystery man even more than she was.

"Ah, I think I already know which one you mean!" she exclaimed outlining a big smile.

"He's a tall guy, 6’2ft, short black hair, slightly tanned skin, athletic body… he was wearing a dark green shirt that day…" Tim explained, noticeably uncomfortable.

"Haha, hey! Many people come here every day! And I can't remember the clothes they all wear. But… I think you mean Mr. Alec Track..." said the girl, now smiling mischievously, internally rapt at remembering how extremely attractive that dark-haired man was.

"Oh, yeah! I only remembered his last name" said Tim. Although he had tried to make his blush go unnoticed, the truth was that anyone could have noticed "so his name is Alec..." he thought to himself.

"Ah, well, he came last week to return the movies he rented…" the girl explained.

"And…he hasn't come back again, has he?" inquired the blond.

"Exactly, he hasn't returned again since then and I doubt he’ll return, maybe until next month."

"I understand, I know he lives in London, although I keep wondering why he come here just to rent movies." Tim seemed even more crestfallen now, but he was still determined to overcome his fear and keep investigating, as if some strange force were inevitably driving him to do so.

"Well, he's registered with an address near here"

"Yes, you mentioned it to me, miss. Could you... provide me with his address?" asked the blond.

"I'm sorry, I can't give that information to anyone," she said.

"Please miss," Tim asked, spreading a bill of notable denomination on the bar "he's an acquaintance of mine and I need to locate him...soon."

The girl, who was very adept at money, did not hesitate long and she decided to take the money and give him the dark-haired's address.

"Okay, besides I don't think there is anything wrong with giving the address of someone like Mr. Track to a guy like you," said the girl, again teasingly, writing down the address of the handsome dark-haired man for Tim, thinking that the blond seemed to be a total loser anyway.

In the end Tim got the address from this Alec Track. Although, being out of the premises he felt a bit regretful for having dared to ask for his address. He could not understand why he had ventured to do so, and he did not know if now he would really dare to go looking for him in that address. He didn't even know what pretext he was going to use to try to get his attention, and he wasn't even sure if he was going to dare to do so.

But, to his own great surprise, he dared to go looking for that address that very afternoon when he left there. He couldn't believe that even being an extremely indecisive and shy guy like him he was now in front of the house that pointed that address, just a few blocks from the video rental store.

However, he did not dare to approach. He was still an extremely indecisive guy, after all. Tim spent a long time in front of that house, from across the sidewalk, but he never dared to ring the bell. He just kept watching, scrutinizing if someone was coming or going, waiting if it was the mysterious and attractive dark-haired who appeared. He was like this for a couple of hours, but he never got to see Alec Track. He only could see an old lady coming out for a moment.

When night had fallen, and Tim decided to leave, on the way home he realized that this whole attempt to find a guy who was a total stranger had been totally stupid from the start, and then he decided that he would never try again. It had all been in vain.

"Bah! None of this makes sense!" he held himself back over and over again during the walk, and for the rest of the night as well, even to the point when he was already laying in his bed ready to sleep.

"You're stupid Tim, that stupid piece of paper Gareth put you on the back only confirmed it," he told himself until he fell asleep.

However, the handsome dark-haired man continued to be constantly present in his thoughts during the following days, without being able to avoid it.

Tim thought it was just becoming a vain obsession.

……………

Two weeks had passed since that day when Tim had seen the strange handsome dark-haired man for the first time. He hadn't seen him since then again, and he hadn't run into him on the streets, although he had wished it would happen, and, although he had tried hard to get him out of his mind, he just couldn't. Tim had come to the conclusion that the guy must have some kind of strange magnetic force that inexplicably attracted him. He really didn't want to get obsessed with that idea, but he had to admit he found it somewhat exciting, especially since it added a bit of excitement to his ridiculously monotonous life.

"Hey Timothy, come to the office for a minute please," David stated, calling the boy.

Tim dropped what he was doing in front of the computer and went to the cubicle.

"Yes, tell me, sir," said the timid blond.

"About the forms you have been in charge of..."

Despite being a somewhat annoying joker, David also used to be spare, and serious when he required it. From the tone of his voice, Tim couldn't be sure if David had called to scold him or tell him that all the hard work, he had tediously put in over the past two weeks was wrong.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" asked the blond, somewhat fearful.

"No, they are certainly very well done, Timmy, congratulations." David's spare tone had suddenly softened.

"So…" Tim muttered doubtfully.

"I need you to take certain papers personally to the offices of that hospital since I can’t go because I need to solve another issue..."

Tim couldn't help feeling apprehension in his chest as he heard him make such a request.

"Sir, that's in London, isn't it?"

"Yes, it has to be this week, this Friday," explained the boss.

"Ah... that's fine, sir," Tim replied, hesitant, but at the same time somewhat excited to have a pretext to get out of the monotony of his town, at least a little.

"you'll be fine? Will you be able to go to London to do this without a problem, Timothy?" asked the superior.

Tim took a few seconds to answer doubtfully.

"y-yeah, no problem. I'll handle it," replied the blond, somewhat nervous.

"Well, then on Friday I'll give you the documents early in the morning, at check-in time," David explained, more cheerful.

Tim had been filled with internal excitement, because now he would definitely have a pretext to go to the capital city.

……………

As agreed, on Friday morning, Tim was assigned to do the assignment in London. He had not advised his parents that he had been assigned such a mandate in the big city, because he did not want to be reproached or discouraged for it. London was only 20 miles away, the hospital was downtown, near the Thames, so that meant he was 7 miles further, almost 28 miles from his house in Slough. Tim was very excited to go, it was almost like an adventure for him, so the night before thinking about this had caused him a bit of insomnia.

"Could it be possible...to meet him?" he thought when his head was already on the pillow for a while "nah, come on, Tim! London is very big and populated, not like Slough" but eventually it would hold back. The best thing was to keep trying to sleep.

The excitement of this little adventure in the busy capital made him wake up even a little earlier than usual, before the alarm clock went off. He showered like every morning, although this time he tried to find a better suit to wear. It wasn't about going to a job interview, but he still wanted to make a good impression. The only bad thing that made him a bit discouraged was realizing that the suit he had chosen, one that he did not wear too often, was now a little tight. He realized that he had gained a little more weight than he had thought. But he decided that he definitely had to wear that one in particular, so he dressed in it as best he could, and then finished getting ready, soon to go down to breakfast.

"Oh, Timmy, you got up earlier this morning!" his mother said from the kitchen.

"Yes, I was assigned an important task today," Tim explained, pouring himself some coffee from the coffeepot. He really did seem much more spirited than usual.

"Ah, so it must be something really exciting, because you look so excited!" she expressed.

"Yes, something like that. That's why I have to hurry," Tim exclaimed, his face lit up with emotion.

"And what kind of task is it?" inquired his mother.

But Tim was not willing to explain that the matter was about going to certain offices in London, because he was afraid that his mother would reprimand him for that and not let him go, or that in the least case, that she would annoy him with a thousand questions. Anyway, he was only going to London, 45 kilometers away, in a journey of just over an hour, and he would surely be back that afternoon or even earlier, so he thought explaining to his overprotective mother was unnecessary.

"A personal assignment in the boss's office," Tim lied.

"Oh, could that mean a promotion?" she said happily.

There were several things that Tim did not trust to his parents, such as the fact that 3 years ago his boss David had assigned him the position of supervisor and that in the end Tim had rejected it, to continue his monotonous work at the same desk. If his mother had found out at that moment, she would surely have scolded him like never in his life, and she would have forced him to insist on obtaining that position. But Tim felt good that way, without having the great responsibility of managing that sector of the company.

"Mmmh, yeah, maybe," the blond uttered, sipping his coffee.

"Ah, then let me serve you a better breakfast this morning, Timmy!" the mother exclaimed and she did so.

Despite his excitement about leaving soon on his little adventure, Tim quietly enjoyed his breakfast. A while later he was already outside, taking the bus to his work. He should be there at the same time as always, getting up earlier this morning had only been due to his agitation, so he really wasn't in a rush.

He arrived on time at the office, where David and Gareth explained to him about the documents that he must to take to the offices of that hospital in London that had requested their services. Tim paid careful attention to the directions and nodded to everything. Now he couldn't wait any longer to depart on his adventure.

"Good luck, Timothy! We trust you!" David said, slapping him, somewhat heavily, on his back.

"Yes, thank you, sir." Tim smiled.

Half an hour later he was already taking a toll bus that would take him to London. Along the way he got ready to listen to some music on his Mp3 player, the emotion did not fit inside his chest, so for this special occasion he decided to listen to happier songs.

The bus dropped him off at some point in the big city from where he had to take another transport to get to the offices assigned to him. He certainly was not used to the bustle of the big city, which was nothing like his neighborhood. He couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed to see all these people and vehicles turn up. But now the important thing was to take the underground train, which undoubtedly seemed like his best option.

"Let's see…I must get to... Whitechapel," the boy muttered, looking at the map.

But before he could enter the underground station, just trying to cross the avenue, Tim did not realize that a vehicle was coming at high speed. At that very moment he had stopped. Tim had always been cautious, even if he was not used to this bustle, but to his bad luck, the vehicle failed to brake well before the stop was marked at the traffic light, so it managed to hit him.

"Ahh!" the blond barely managed to scream, because he soon fell to the ground and his head hit the asphalt, knocking him unconscious for a moment.

The only thing he could see, a while later, when he had briefly regained consciousness, blurred, and full of confusion, was a bunch of curious people surrounding him, and the sound of an ambulance approaching.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," said a deep, masculine voice, extremely kind. It was the voice of the paramedic who had come to treat him. He tried to reassure Tim, despite the unfortunate accident, because he always liked to be very empathetic with his patients.

"Ahh" Tim only managed to complain a little, and he lost consciousness again. Although, just before doing so, he had managed to read the name of the paramedic on his orange suit. Despite his confusion, he thought he read the words _“Alec Track”_ correctly. However, he had not managed to see his face, everything in his head was spinning, and his vision was still blurry, made even worse by the reflection of the sun's ray at that time of the morning, besides being totally confused perhaps it had only been the product of his momentary delusion, which he would have to find out when he woke up in the hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww this is the first fic I publish in 2021! Happy New Year to everyone! (despite the current horrible world situation)
> 
> First, I apologize if I made mistakes, English is not my first language but I always try my best! 🙏
> 
> Ufft this fic I wanted to publish for years and could not. But it is finally here and I hope you like it and enjoy it as much as I do! ;D this year I intend to update and publish much more of my precious OTP Thilbo / Richartin / Bagginshield! owó
> 
> Because the inspiration for these two never ends, 365 days a year! 😍
> 
> It is always so sexy and sweet at the same time, and they are destined to meet again in each new going and love each other again and again! >:D
> 
> I don't know when I will be able to update this fic since I will be updating and publishing others first, but I hope it won't take too long! ;D thank you always for all your support! 😘❤️


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